No New Grads !

suzanne4, RN · Nov 29, 2005

A "new grad program" is essentially the same thing as an internship.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Nov 30, 2005

Here in Dallas there are externships for student nurses, which are offered during the summer while you are in nursing school. The internships are after you finish nursing school. That was what I was told by the Childrens Hospital in Dallas. I also want to work in the NICU and they have explained to me that the only way to start in the NICU is to do an internship after graduation or start in peds first and get some experience, like Suzanne said.

I understand many NICU's don't hire new grads but it is not the case in many other areas/hospitals. Also if you work there as an aide/CNA/PCT (whatever) sometimes they will make exceptions and hire you after you graduate.

Kiyatylese; you can be employed as a new grad in a level 3 NICU in the DFW area, I guess just not at Children's in Dallas. Plenty of other area hospitals hire new grads. I know 3 years ago Baylor in Dallas hired new grads. THR (Harris Methodist, Presbyterian & AMH) hospitals hire new grads, we get at least 2-3 every 6 months in our unit (sometimes more).

NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN · Nov 30, 2005

Kiyatylese; you can be employed as a new grad in a level 3 NICU in the DFW area, I guess just not at Children's in Dallas. Plenty of other area hospitals hire new grads. I know 3 years ago Baylor in Dallas hired new grads. THR (Harris Methodist, Presbyterian & AMH) hospitals hire new grads, we get at least 2-3 every 6 months in our unit (sometimes more).

Thank you very much for that info. I will try to contact them ASAP. :yeah:

hmarandola · Dec 6, 2005

Hi all!

I just finished my very last final!! Am now a BSN waiting to sit for my boards!! I was able to do my senior preceptorship (unpaid) in a Level III Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) here in California. Basically we had to complete 224 hours with an RN on the unit. I had a fantastic "preceptor" who has had me doing any assignment from three feeder-growers to two babies with O2 and TPN to a single baby on HFOV! I have been to c-sections with heavy mec aspiration when we had to intubate in order to sx below the lungs. I was in charge of giving the neo the heartrate. Talk about adreneline (sp?)!! I even started an IV on a 7.5 lb baby...on my first try! Of course I needed help securing it with tape. I froze and said I am not letting go of this catheter! LOL

One time I had triplets, only one was on NC but all three had TPN! My preceptor put her feet up about six feet away and watched as I fed all three and changed all three lines before it was time to feed again! That was a challenge for my time management skills!

If you have the opportunity to precept ask your school to place you in the ICN. I had to get letters of recommendation from other instructors and I had to have a certain grade in critical care and pedi...but this experience has been incredible! Now that I am finished with school they want to hire me, even though they are not doing a formal new grad program. They have basically been training me for the last three months.

Don't give up & Good luck!!!

Heather

mommy2BCD · Dec 6, 2005

WOW! How neat is that ? I would love to have such a great opportunity as that. I hope that I could get a preceptorship here. They only have a level 2 nicu though. Not sure if there is a chance but i will keep my fingers crossed

Hi all!
I just finished my very last final!! Am now a BSN waiting to sit for my boards!! I was able to do my senior preceptorship (unpaid) in a Level III Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) here in California. Basically we had to complete 224 hours with an RN on the unit. I had a fantastic "preceptor" who has had me doing any assignment from three feeder-growers to two babies with O2 and TPN to a single baby on HFOV! I have been to c-sections with heavy mec aspiration when we had to intubate in order to sx below the lungs. I was in charge of giving the neo the heartrate. Talk about adreneline (sp?)!! I even started an IV on a 7.5 lb baby...on my first try! Of course I needed help securing it with tape. I froze and said I am not letting go of this catheter! LOL
One time I had triplets, only one was on NC but all three had TPN! My preceptor put her feet up about six feet away and watched as I fed all three and changed all three lines before it was time to feed again! That was a challenge for my time management skills!
If you have the opportunity to precept ask your school to place you in the ICN. I had to get letters of recommendation from other instructors and I had to have a certain grade in critical care and pedi...but this experience has been incredible! Now that I am finished with school they want to hire me, even though they are not doing a formal new grad program. They have basically been training me for the last three months.
Don't give up & Good luck!!!
Heather

JVanRN · Dec 7, 2005

I know our unit used to hire new grads but now the hospital is implementing a new policy that new grads are not to be hired into specialty areas anymore (ER, LD, NICU, ICU's...) until they complete one full year of med surg. This is to supposed make the new nurses more "well rounded" which in theory is nice, but I don't think one year of med surg is going to make a huge difference in some units (NICU being one of them). I kind of think it is one way to alleviate the shortage in these units. This is to start next year. I sure am glad I got in when I did. I had also worked for 3 years on a telemetry floor as an LVN before getting my RN so I had some type of med surg experience under my belt, but not as an RN so it wouldn't have counted to them.

Brit5 · Dec 7, 2005

I finished the RN phase of my direct entry neonatal NP program last summer. I have a staff RN position in the NICU that starts in March 06. It includes 22 weeks of training (classroom, mentor etc...). I must work a minimum of two years full-time in the NICU before I can complete the neonatal portion of my NP program.

Look for a major teaching hospital. That is where I found a NICU new grad training program in CA.

Good luck.

livtek · Dec 10, 2005

The best way how to get to NICU is to start in postpartum or in the nursery and than is so easy to transfer. I work in Good Sam L.A. 3 months in postpartum and I love it. I was suppost to go for L&D training in March 2006 but I'm staying in my unit because of my hip surgery, and postpartum is great. Next year I'm transfering to NICU a allready talk to CNS and charge nurse and they are happy to get new nurse.

My unit manager likes New grads much more to hire than older nurses.

Well they are saying, New grads are like sponge without bad habits.

Get hire in big hospital and than I'm sure they can transfer you.

suzanneuthscsa · Jan 2, 2006

I too want to work in the NICU. I am just starting nursing school next week and will be graduating with BSN in 2007. I have personal reasons for choosing this area of nursing. I have given birth to two preemies. My son was 24 wks and weighed less than 1#. He is now 5 and doing well. My 2 yr old daughter was 32 wks and was 3#. I feel that I have so much to offer in this field with my experiences on the patient side of things. I learned to breastfeed a preemie, which is not an easy feat. I feel so discouraged though when I hear that it is a difficult area to get into. I live in San Antonio, so there are many large teaching hospitals nearby and I heard about one such internship at Santa Rosa Children's Hospital. From what I understood, it was a bridge program that could be completed during your last summer before graduating.

NoCrumping · Jan 12, 2006

I am confused. I have went to severeal hospital websites that are hiring for NICU nurses. All I seem to see is NO NEW GRADS in bold print letters everywhere! How are you supposed to get experience if the places that you could work won't hire you as a new grad? They are mostly wanting level III experience. This concept seems a little strange to me :uhoh21: If you are a new grad and got a job in the NICU, where and how? If you are an experienced NICU nurse, what can I do in this situation ? I want so bad to work in the NICU when I graduate and even though that is next year I would like to know what I could do to increase my chances of getting hired in the future. Thanks in advance !

Sorry to hear about your situation. In my experience, there have been many more places that do hire new grads than do not......but maybe its a geographical thing? I dont know... I went to a level 3 nicu as a gn, and I was part of an 8 people group of orientees, 5 of them were new grads like me. I have worked in 2 more, and they both accepted new grads. Most of them think that it is actually an advantage to hire a new grad in nicu, because they can "mold" you, and you come with no bad habits, and you can learn fresh there, as nicu is a whole different world compared to any other nursing....Keep looking, maybe the units that dont want new grads now, will in the future hold a whole orientation for new grads and experienced nicu nurses.....

It seems to be different everywhere, though... alot of people elsewhere in the country (I am in the east coast) say that certain nicus hire cna's, student externs, and Lpn's.... but my experience with any nicu has been, RN's only, no aids, no lpns, just us RN's and resp therapists.....so, keep trying, being a new grad in a nicu is most deffinitely not unheard of.....good luck:wink2:

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 14, 2006

I know that it is sometimes an issue at the Children's Hospital here, but that's why I've planned ahead :lol:

I started Jan of last year, working as a UC in the ER at Childrens. (before I started my program) and then through networking, I moved up to UCing in the NICU as well. It was then easy, once I met the minimum education requirements to become a PCA, to ask my manager if I could get oriented and trained as a PCA and switch my job.

And I know when I finish my RN, I will be able to get a job in the NICU much easier because I know the staff, the managers, the clinical leaders - I've proven to them already that I'm trustworthy, hardworking, dedicated and a fast learner. They don't have to take it on faith.

I would do whatever you can to get to know people/managers in your NICU. Do some volunteer work there if you can, along with your regular work. Show them that this is what you want to do and you'll do what it takes to make it happen. :) Good luck!

nursechick182, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2006

The best thing to do, if you are lucky to find it, is find a hospital that is offering a NICU internship which would train you in neonatal. You would work by taking classes, labs and then work regular shifts with another RN preceptor. I realize not all hospitals do this, but I was lucky enough to graduate right at the same time when a hospital in my city rapidly expanded and needed many nurses so they offered an internship. It lasted about 3 months and while it's impossible to teach you everything you need to know, it gives you a very good starting point. And like previous posts stated, try to get more nicu experience in school, with a preceptorship/externship or maybe your school offers an elective clinical or something. The bigger, more resourceful hospitals will hire new grads and give them a training program.